


All’s Fair in Love and Dorms

by FeliumPerina



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Co-workers, Dorms, M/M, Residential Advisors
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-01
Updated: 2017-03-04
Packaged: 2018-09-27 15:04:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10027151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeliumPerina/pseuds/FeliumPerina
Summary: College can be a real proving ground and when living on campus there are those few students who take on the role of Residential Advisors. It's not an easy task having to defend the community guidelines and enforce the university's rules among your fellow college fairing students. But that's what faces the group of RAs of Altea University's Leon hall. But when you live where you work the emotions whether positive or negative can run even stronger and are even less avoidable. But the strongest bonds are formed during hardships and tribulations and nothing beats commiserating between those who understand the frustrations of going to school and dealing with the late night duty phone calls and weird confrontations that can come from having to defend the building from the utter chaos college students can manage to conjure.





	1. So it Begins...

Keith closed the door to his new room with a gentle nudge from his foot and he was left surveying his strewn about belongings. 

The ‘moving’ portion of his Move-In day was finished but faced with the task of unpacking everything he was left exhausted and not entirely sure where to begin. So instead he found himself seated on the blue mattress of his bed. 

The windows across from him trickled in the slowly dying daylight as the sunset was slowly headed towards the horizon.

The dorm had been about what he expected, a little bit outdated and a bit stiff but decently welcoming despite the blaringly blank walls that surrounded him.  
The more jarring notion was the fact that the floor was empty save for him.

It was cementing in his mind that he was fully committed now. He was going to be an Residential Advisor. He’d ended up pushing any of his uncertainty with the idea that throughout the months long selection process and class he wouldn’t have been picked if they didn’t think he’d be able to do the job.

The next two weeks were simply training for him and his fellow RAs so he had even more time to adjust to his new job and new living situation.   
It hadn’t been until he’d gone to check into his building that he learned he’d be on the 4th floor.

Well 4th floor almost seemed like a misnomer to Keith considering the elevator had the options of lobby, 2, 3, 4 and so on. But it’s not like it really mattered. 

After a short while a brief wave of anxiety crossed Keith’s mind and he found himself checking his phone for the time. Despite the fact he knew he had set an alarm for that evening’s gathering the worry he’d be late wouldn’t be satisfied unless he checked the time and made sure the alarm was set, and set right. 

_Right day…. PM right…. and armed …_

It was only 3:30. Still two hours until the first official staff meeting.  
He sighed.

Finally figuring it’d be best to start pulling out his stuff he stood and pulled open the first box that contained his laptop, cords of all kinds, desk supplies and the all too important alarm clock.

After a while his desk was covered in stacks of books, folders, wires, and smattering of last minute packing additions. Haphazardly he put things away in the drawers and shelves about him so his laptop could be in a much less precarious and cramped situation. After he’d gotten his router set up with relatively few frustrations he found that the unpacking went a bit smoother with the help of some background music. 

By the time he’d unpacked a good majority of his belongings and only a few more bouts of checking the time he was jolted by his alarm. Granted the alarm was set for fifteen minutes ahead of the meeting time and he realized he really wouldn’t need that much time to get down to the office in the lobby. So with a minor hesitation it was snoozed for another five minutes.

He busied himself with trying to figure out what to take to the meeting. The email from his boss the Resident Director had said it wasn’t so much a formal meeting as an introductory gathering for the staff to meet each other and cover some basic information. Of course the RD had suggested bringing something to write on and a writing utensil. After settling on a notebook and pen Keith dug out his phone to double check his email.

Once again the alarm sounded and he grabbed his supplies and his keys and headed out of his room. His door had been left unlocked during the moving process and he’d paused before deciding to lock it even though the building was empty save for him and his new coworkers. 

It took all of two minutes to make it to the lobby and he found himself like always early and outside of a vacant office with nothing to do. 

Despite being the first one there he wasn’t sure if he wanted others to show up early as well or to appreciate the lack of awkward small talk he’d have to make if everyone else showed up on time.

It wasn’t long before he heard a door from the far end of the lobby open and close and footsteps approaching him. He turned to face the oncoming person and hoped it was his new boss. The person rounded the front desk and Keith was confronted with the tall well-built frame of the stranger.

“Oh, Hey there” was said as they caught sight of Keith waiting just outside the office’s doors. 

“Hey” he repeated as an instantaneous response but was suddenly unsure of how to proceed. 

_Was this the RD?_

He did appear to be older and seemed to hold himself with some confidence as he strode toward the office. But he didn’t seem to have all that many years on Keith although the tuft of white hair that sprouted from the rest of his black hair did throw him for a bit of a loop. 

“I’m Shiro the 7th floor RA” He said warmly as he came to stand just in front of Keith.

“I’m Keith, I’m on the 4th floor” Keith had relaxed the tiniest bit having heard that this was another RA and not his boss. 

“Well it’s nice to meet you Keith” Shiro had extended his hand out as he spoke.

“It’s nice to-“ Keith had taken it to shake but as he did he noted how stiff an strange it felt in his own.

At his confused pause Shiro interjected, “Oops didn’t mean to startle you” after a few brief shakes Shiro had brought his right hand up for both he and Keith to inspect, “It’s a prosthetic” he turned and twisted the hand and Keith noticed that while it was mostly life like upon further inspection it was too pale to match his complexion.

“Oh…” Keith said still admiring the hand between them, “that’s interesting”

“I guess you could say I’d really have to _hand_ it to you to not be surprised” Shiro smirked before moving around Keith to the locked doors.

“It’s locked” Keith spoke up as the other reached for the doorknob. 

“As it should be” Shiro directed back over his shoulder with a smile.

But Shiro had inserted a key with his left hand and had the door open within a few seconds.

Keith followed him into the office taking in his new work environment. The back wall was covered in floor to ceiling shelving which included twin stacks of cubbies filled with colored paper forming a band of rainbow in the center. There was a waist high table with four stools between him and the shelves the wood top marred by a variety of markers and marks. 

Shiro was to his left as he reached a switch and the single light from above was joined by another 3. He was pulling out a chair in front of one of the two computers at the desk along the windows that looked out on the entryway of the building.

Keith checked his phone again and it was now 5:26. Shiro was booting up the PC and just as Keith was setting his stuff down on the table by the shelves he could hear the elevator open across the lobby and suddenly there was a chorus of voices that grew steadily louder as they drew towards the open door of the office. 

Three people came into view through the windows. There was a tall woman with a white Hijab who wore a jeweled headband across her forehead. She was accompanied by another person short in stature to her left with red hair and large round glasses. The last of the group was a large guy who for some reason was wearing an orange headband.

“-pretty great RD but he’s not on the same schedule as everyone else. I’m telling you he’s almost certain to be late” she finished saying as she turned to look at Keith.

“Hello!” she greeted him with a smile, ”I’m Allura”

“I’m Keith” he said with calm courtesy.

“I’m Pidge” the shortest of the bunch chimed in as they had moved between Allura and the other person. 

“The names Hunk” the last of the group added with a warm smile.

“Nice to meet you all” Keith said.

Shiro had just gotten up from his chair and crossed the short distance to join the group.

“I’m Shiro” He introduced himself as he came to lean on the table that they all had congregated about, “so you think our RD is going to be late?” he directed at Allura.

“Oh I’d be willing to bet on it. If he’s not here already he’s most likely going to be late, but usually not more than a few ‘ticks’” her smug smile turned to a smirk on the last word.

“Ticks?” Shiro responded to the curious word.

“Like I said he’s on his own schedule and that schedule seems to run on it’s own time, but it’s just a smidge off from real time, so he’s taken to referring to the discrepancy as ‘ticks’”

“Well that’s good to know” Shiro shook his head as chuckled.

Keith’s phone buzzed with his calendar reminder for the current staff ‘meeting’ he swiped it off screen as the others continued to chat.

Shortly after the elevators opened once again and someone came jogging towards the office.

“Am I late?” They said as the came to a halt next to Hunk.

“Well it is after 5:30 already so yes” Hunk spoke as the brunette slung an arm on his shoulder and exhaled disappointedly, “but…”

“But what?” they perked up in response.

“You still made it here before the RD” Hunk said as he rolled his eyes.

“Sweet!” a fist bump between the two before he continued, “So I’m not late~”

Keith couldn’t help but roll his eyes, he was going to guess that being late was a common occurrence for them.

Hunk prodded them in the midst of their mini celebration.

“Hey what’s that for?” they asked sorely as Hunk gestured to everyone around them.

They looked confused for a moment before they finally said “Hey my RA pals! My names Lance but you can call me _anytime_ ” as they finger gunned around the circle and winked.

Everyone collectively groaned. 

After everyone had recovered they reintroduced themselves to Lance.

Shiro started asking Pidge about their brother and Allura more questions about the RD. All while Hunk and Lance were discussing some new movie or something. Keith found himself not necessarily included in the conversations he was between. Just as he was about to unlock his phone the front doors were suddenly sweeping open and someone with a stack of boxes was moving towards the office.

“Coran!” Allura called out to him as the rest moved out of the way.

He quickly dropped the boxes in front of a sliding door to an enclosed office.

He disappeared through the door and reappeared just as quickly with a clipboard and a stack of papers in multiple colors.

“Follow me!” He announced as he was back out the doors of the office.

The others filtered out behind him as Keith gathered his stuff to do the same. 

They were all led across the lobby to a room just on the other side of the front desk which was labeled as the conference room. Most of the space was taken up by a table which had 3 seats on each side.

Coran unlocked the room and swiftly turned the lights on before making his way to the far side of the table. Keith was the last to enter and ended up taking a seat opposite from 

Coran alongside Pidge who was sitting closer to Shiro and Allura. Which left his seat right next to Lance unless he wanted to make this more awkward and try to take the seat right next to Pidge. 

Keith wanted to make a good impression with his new boss so he was deliberately trying not to be irked by the person beside him.

Coran had started sorting out the papers into six stacks with each color in every pile.

“Hey…” He heard Lance say in his general direction but that was also the direction for most everyone else at the table. So Keith figured he may not be the intended target and remained focused on preparing his notebook for the meeting.

“Hey” spoken again, this time more incessant. Keith turned towards the voice and was met with the dark blue eyes of the brunette. 

“Hey Kevin, could I borrow a piece of paper?” Lance motioned to the notebook.

_Ugh…_

“It’s Keith” he stated gruffly while he tore out a sheet that he shuffled towards them.

“Oh uh… thanks Keith” the room fell quiet as Coran began giving each of them a stack of assorted papers.

“Great! Now welcome one and all to the Leon Hall Staff!” Coran’s mustache seemed to bounce along with his excited tone. 

“I’m sure you’ve all started getting to know each other but to start off our very first staff meeting I’d like everyone to say their name and preferred pronouns, if you’re a new RA or a returner as well as the two movie genres that best describe yourselves!”

He stood and seemed to puff out his chest. “To start us off I’m Coran, he/him pronouns, I’m a returning RD, and you’ll find me smackdab at the middle of Action and Epics!” he’d assumed a stance with a fist raised triumphantly and a foot resting on the chair beside him.

As he sat he motioned to Allura who stood up as well.

“I’m a returning RA and my name is Allura, I use she/her pronouns and I’d be a Sci-fi Adventure” She smiled as spoke and was soon reseated as she turned her attention to Shiro.

“Shiro reporting,” he gave a brief salute with a smile, “I’m a returning RA so please feel free to ask me anything. I go by he/him and I’m all about Musicals and Action.”  
 _That’s a strange combination…_ Keith thought but soon Pidge was standing next to him.

“Pidge, they/them, Sci-fi and Documentaries. I’m a new RA as well.” They were brief and a little bit curt but Keith thought he could get along with them.

“I’m Keith, I’m a new RA and I use he/him pronouns” his was about to sit down when Coran spoke up.

“And what kind of movie are you?” Coran was leaning in while as he held a pen to the paper on his clip board. 

Keith had gone stiff when he’d spoken and he found himself straightening up before responding.

“Sci-fi and Adventure” he hesitated as he realized that was probably a unimaginative answer but those were his favorites so he figured it worked. 

Before he was seated Lance had already hopped up from his chair “As you’re all aware I’m Lance, use he/him, and I’m a new RA” He was overly confident but Keith was surprised he didn’t end up saying something embarss- “I’d be a RomCom because girls just can’t get enough of me” he smirked.

_And there it is,_ Keith thought trying his best to ignore any part of him in his vision as he set his attention upon the last person.

“I’m Hunk I go by he/him, and I’m a new RA and seeing as I like comedy and dramas I think I’m a Dramedy” he said with a shrug and a chuckle. 

“Now if everyone will take a look at the papers in front of them. We’ll go over the general structure I’d like our meetings to follow” Coran began as Keith drew the sheets in front of him.

_So it begins…_


	2. Hands Up!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First Staff Meeting for the RA's of Leon Hall results in new information, pizza and some 'friendly' competition.

Coran had directed everyone’s attention to the top sheet which was the Meeting Agenda.

“I like starting off meetings by asking for any pressing questions. So if you have’em, now’s the time to let’em loose!” Coran paused and looked about the small room. 

After a short but minorly awkward moment passed he was back at it, “Well it’s never a bad idea to ask for clarification so don’t feel shy!” 

“The next segment for our meetings will be focusing on Updates and Important information. In the future you will each be assigned committee roles and this will be the time where you will be informing the rest of the staff on your efforts. So please remember to be prepared for this in future meetings!”

Keith was curious about the committees and what they might be but he’d rather not interrupt with a question that may be answered later. 

Coran continued covering further meeting topics like the schedule for the building for upcoming events or any happenings, the building wide newsletter that we’d be in charge of dispersing, an activity because ‘fun is fundamental’ according to Coran, and Kudos of the week to give positive feedback to each other.

“This form of meetings is an original Coran design!” He beamed as he spoke, “It might just go global so remember, this is the day you were introduced to Q.U.I.S.N.A.K.!” at that Allura giggled with a shake of her head and the rest of the room followed.

_Well he’s a character all right_

Coran then started covering what they had to look forward to in training over the next two weeks only to be stopped short by his phone going off. 

“Excuse me a moment” He made his way around the perimeter of the room and exited Everyone turned to watch as he headed to the entrance of the building where a man with a large rectangular carrier stood on the other side of the doors.

Coran unlocked them and the man stepped inside, his blue uniform and cap now apparent and emblazoned with the ever-familiar pizza chain logo. Coran paid the delivery man and took the pizza boxes before escorting him back through the door and promptly relocking them.

He made the short walk through the lobby and was soon back at the head of the table.

“Now who’d like some pizza?” Coran said as he spread out and opened the 3 boxes and began passing out napkins.

There were two peperoni and one cheese, Keith eyed them both realizing he was quite hungry. He’d forgotten the email had mentioned something about dinner and was immediately grateful for the food. Especially seeing as he had yet to get a chance to stock up on groceries. He regretted not bringing any lactaid pills with him like he usually did but his future discomfort was easily outweighed by the free food in front of him.

Everyone grabbed their slices before sitting back down, “Well as you all should know just like you have duty we as RD’s also have duty. Though we’re usually on it for a week at a time” Coran spoke as everyone started eating, “So just as a heads up when on duty I may need to respond to a call during our meetings and as such it’ll be up to you all to cover anything left on the Q.U.I.S.N.A.K. that can be covered if it should come to that.”

Keith was finishing his first piece as he noticed Lance moving to grab another slice. His eyes absentmindedly following the motion as he came back to his seat. Upon which he noticed the discarded crust resting on the napkin. 

_Wow really?_

Keith’s immediate response was one of dismayed annoyance, though with as careless as Lance seemed to be it wasn’t all that surprising he was a crust wasting heathen. He brushed the thought off and tried to go back to ignoring the brunette.

Coran seemed to have gone off on a tangent in between his bites of pizza. Something about one of his craziest nights on duty about people climbing between balconies, fire alarms, and several other emergencies across campus. 

After most everyone seemed finished with eating Coran called back their attention.

“Now tonight is not your typical staff meeting but seeing as we’ve covered all the information I have for you I think it’s a good time for an activity, especially one that as RA’s you should definitely have in your repertoire!” Coran stood, his hand poised in a confident point as though to emphasize it’s importance. 

“Icebreaker time?” Allura asked in a knowing tone.

“Correct, It’s time to break some ice!!” Coran smirked.

He went on to explain that they would be going around the table saying a fact about themselves. At the start they would all be holding up their hand and after hearing a fact that they related to or shared they’d place one finger down. The goal was to get everyone to recognize that they all had something in common with each other. He reminded them all that this was something they could use in the future at their own events.

Once again Coran started them of, “I’ve travelled outside of the country” at which Keith could see both Allura and Shiro putting down fingers as he did so himself. Coran looked towards Hunk to continue.

“I like to sing” Hunk said with a grin to which Lance, Coran and Shiro put down fingers.

“I like playing video games” Hunk, Pidge, and Keith folded down their fingers at Lance’s fact.

“I’m an only child” Keith spoke plainly as Shiro, Allura, and Hunk put down fingers.

Pidge was next, “I’ve built my own computer” to which Hunk curled in another digit.

“I’ve broken a bone,” said Shiro until he shrugged and smirked, “Well more like bones plural” and then Lance and Coran were out another one.

“I have dietary restrictions” Allura said as Keith and pidge retracted another finger.

“Let’s see here….” Coran pondered for a moment, “I read horoscopes and quite enjoy them” Hunk and Lance were down one more finger.

Hunk spoke next “My favorite season is summer” to which Allura and Coran nodded in agreement as they retracted another one.

“Coffee is important to me and I enjoy it regularly” Lance spoke smugly over his two fingers and all but Keith had to place down another finger.

“Wait do you not like coffee?” Keith had been cut off by Lance who was now staring at his hand.

“Coffee is ok” it’s not like Keith was against it but he generally didn’t go for coffee unless he truly needed it. 

“You’re a monster” Lance scoffed and though it was said as a joke Keith was pestered by his outburst.

“Says the person who wastes their crust” Keith returned in a huff.

“Excuse me for only enjoying the good part of pizza” Lance folded his arms but left his two fingers visible.

Keith swore he could see the other’s nose turn up like a snob.

Coran interjected, “We’ve all got different opinions and preferences now, it’s good to share them but let’s not get carried away” attempting to deflate the tension between the two. “Keith, how about you’re next fact?”

Keith had forgotten what he was going to say before he was rudely interrupted.

“I can write with my left hand” he figured that had a higher chance of matching the others versus the full fact that he was ambidextrous. Shiro was now out of fingers and Pidge along with everyone else was now on their last one except for Lance and Keith.

“I used to have long hair” Coran put down his last finger after Pidge spoke.

Seeing as Shiro was out Allura spoke next “I’m fluent in more than one language” which left Hunk and Pidge fingerless and Lance down to one. “Oh may I ask what languages?” Allura’s interest had been piqued.

“Samoan” Hunk spoke first.

“Binary” Pidge’s glasses glinted.

“The language of _Love_ ” Lance cooed, “Español!”

“Wow, those were rather unexpected” said Allura though she’d rolled her eyes at Lance’s initial response.

Coran and Hunk were out so it fell back to Lance, “Hmmm…” he hummed while tapping a finger on his chin.

He flashed Keith a mischievous look “I’ve never had a mullet” 

Keith rolled his eyes but Lance was staring at his hand expectantly, but his two fingers remained.

Allura was the only one to place a finger down at Lance’s fact “You know this isn’t never have I ever” she reminded Lance, “You put a finger down if you _share_ the fact with the person”.

Lance’s smug expression faltered, “I-I know that” finally breaking his gaze away from Keith’s hand.

“My favorite color is Red” Keith said at Lance’s protests. Lance was down to his last finger so Keith was confident he could get him out first. 

“Nope! Mine’s blue” Lance exclaimed before coming up with his fact, “I played sports in high school” he said awaiting Keith’s response.

Keith grudgingly put down a finger and was highly tempted to put down his pointer rather than his middle finger. 

As both continued trying to get each other out the energy began to ramp up. 

After several attempts and no changes Keith finally had a for sure fact. In his brief pause he realized how close they’d gotten in their heated exchange and leaned back in his seat with a cocky grin that caught Lance by surprise.

The rest of the room seemed on the edge of their seats waiting for Keith to speak, “I’m an RA”

Lance’s face fell as he stammered. Finally, he clenched his fist after folding in his last finger.

Lance lurched back in his seat “Whatever” he muttered under his breath.

Keith’s contentment at having bested Lance surpassed any sense of guilt or regret from acting so childish in front his new co-workers. 

_Well at least for now..._

“Well… that was a bit more spirited than I expected but I hope you all had some fun and learned a bit about each other” Coran said breaking the silence.

“So for the first Kudos of the year I would like to thank you all for your efforts that brought you here and I look forward to working together with you all!” sincerity in his voice Coran proceeded to stand, “And that will be all for tonight’s meeting feel free to take more pizza if you’d like or if you have any questions I’ll be in my office for the next hour or so”

With that everyone started filtering out of the conference room and headed back to the office while Coran locked up the conference room.

They all converged around the table where Hunk had placed the remaining two pizza boxes. Both he and pidge grabbed another slice. Keith was surprised for someone of such a short stature they were matching Hunk in appetite. 

“And don’t forget you’ve got an early morning tomorrow as I’ll see you all back down here at 8:30, but don’t worry breakfast will be provided!” he said as he passed by the group on his way to his office. Upon entering he closed the door and Keith noticed a little sign that swung from the action. It read ‘I’m in, please feel free to knock’ but nobody seemed to have any questions and Coran seemed to quickly jump into work on his computer.

“So are you all excited to start training tomorrow?” Allura was the first to speak up, though Keith couldn’t tell if her excited tone was pure or purely sarcasm.

“I’m really not sure what to expect” Pidge had responded after they had finished chewing, “I think I know more about the RA job itself than the actual training”

Shiro laughed at that “True, I’m sure Matt did a good job of informing you all about being an RA” he smiled which made him even more handsome, “Training is almost like a whole other world really, between the lectures, discussions, events, and the spirit competition it’s pretty wild” 

“Spirit competition?” Lance chimed in

“Oh yes! Believe me you all better get ready Coran is all about that competition” Allura smiled.

“That’s right your staff won last year didn’t they?” Shiro asked while smiling in return.

“Certainly did! It was mainly because of Coran though, he pushed us all to be creative when it came to the challenges but it was a lot of fun” she spoke fondly.

“Well I’m in” Shiro said enthusiastically before leaning in to look around the table, “How about everyone else?” he received nods and murmurs of agreement from everyone. Keith really admired how confident he was especially at how easily he could take charge of a conversation.

Keith was still a bit nervous about training but with this staff he was looking forward to it as well.

The rest of the evening they sat around talking and polishing off the remaining pizza. At Shiro’s suggestion they ended up dispersing sometime after 11.

Keith got back to his room and instantly regretted not having made his bed earlier. But after that task was accomplished and he was through changing he found himself falling asleep much easier than usual.

_Did I set my alarm?_

Keith was startled out of his near slumber. He stumbled in the dim light of street lamps that faintly filtered through his curtains before managing to checking both his alarm clock and phone.

Of course, he had set them but the intrusive worry was unsurprising as usual.

Fortunately it didn’t take long before he found himself drifting off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Thank you for reading my fic!
> 
> This is my first fanfic and as such I'm still tinkering with some aspects such as chapter length. So please let me know if you have any suggestions or comments! I'd love to hear from you!
> 
> Hope you're enjoying it and I hope to have the next chapter up within another week or so!

**Author's Note:**

> Wow thank you for reading this! 
> 
> I don't have a beta reader so please excuse any errors that I've missed in my own proofreading. This is the introductory chapter for this series so while not much has happened so far I really look forward to all the shenanigans that the PAL-adins will be putting up with and getting into!
> 
> I hope you have enjoyed this incredibly self-indulgent fic and if you did please check back for future chapters!


End file.
